


Sleepless Dreaming

by AderaReam



Series: RideBack Oneshots [2]
Category: RideBack
Genre: F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 12:23:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8532958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AderaReam/pseuds/AderaReam
Summary: One night of many for Rin and Tenshiro.





	

    She’s on a monorail with Tamayo. They are in disguise, headed for the city. The park is next to them. Suzuri is riding on Balon, waving a blue flag. The GGP. A gunshot that can be heard even on the train. Blood. Rin does not scream as she wakes. It has been too long for that. Instead she gets up and dresses silently slipping out of the room without waking Shoko. The other girl worries Rin is not getting enough sleep. She is right to worry. It has been a long time since Rin felt safe enough in her bed to sleep more than a few hours. The world is changing, but the scars remain. 

    She leaves the building and begins walking. During her last dance, she melted most of Fuego’s insides. Tenshiro is basically rebuilding her from the ground up. Rin does not deserve it, but cannot bring herself to turn his kindness away. He is always kind, even if she does not realize it at the time. Even if she does not deserve it. She never feels like she deserves it nowadays, but still he is kind. She picks up her pace, starts running.

    If she is being honest with herself, they are all too kind to her. What she did got Suzuri killed and put Shoko in therapy. Her brother is out of prison, but living with their grandmother. He barely speaks. He goes to therapy too. She should probably go. She does not.

    Running is the closest she can get to freedom without Fuego. She pounds through the night, ignoring the flash of streetlights, the rumble of the few cars that pass by, the occasional drunk. The only things that she lets herself notice are the sound of her feet hitting the pavement, her heart beating in her ears, the cold as it fogs her breath, raises her flesh and freezes her lungs. She does not stop. She does not slow. She needs to fly. She does.

    She only slows when she reaches the park. It feels wrong to run in this place. It had been transformed into a memorial to lives lost and those who fought the GGP. The base of the statue in the center of the park is home to shrines to the lost and hopes for the future. For the most part it is covered in flowers of every type. Right now it is winter, so there are few but someone has left a few bunches of poinsettias. They are lovely. They are the color of blood. Rin makes it to the statue and turns around, sitting down so she does not have to face the offerings.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    Sleepless nights are nothing new for Tenshiro. He has spent many a night grading papers until the rise of the sun. Before that he was up all night trying to evade Kallenbach’s notice. Before that he was planning revolution with Kallenback and Kiefer. How much has changed, and he still cannot find any decent rest. He gives up for the night, dressing and putting on his shoes, grabbing his coat before he leaves.

    He drives his rideback aimlessly about the city. He looks up at the moonless sky and has a feeling. He is not alone in his sleeplessness this night. He turns towards the park. She is always there.

    He drives up to a few yards away from the statue before dismounting to walk the rest of the way. He does not know how long she has been here. She looks faintly blue. She forgot her coat again. Tenshiro takes his off and drapes it across her shoulders. He know it would do no good to tell her to go home. It never does. He sits beside her and contemplates the night.

    They sit in silence. It usually starts out this way. Sometimes Rin will break the silence, sometimes Tenshiro will because Rin will give him this look that says she needs a distraction but does not know what to say. Sometimes they are quiet until dawn. He does not mind either way. 

    “I have been asked to work for the GGP.” He starts. Her look asks a question. “I think I will take them up on the offer. Things are changing, and I think working from the inside is the best way to keep the change from going too bad.” He gives her a wry smile. She understands, gives him one back. He turns to look out across the park. “They want me to train new rideback specialists. I told them I would, but only if I got to teach them my way. They agreed.” Another grin. He glances at her, and she is giving him a  _ ‘what did you do?’ _ look. He cannot resist. “The new specialists will learn how to ride, but all of them are going to be mechanics as well.” She laughs, it is a wonderful sound. “Yeah, if they want to be some sort of elite force, they are going to have to get dirty too. I want to make sure none of them end up too big for themselves. And maybe cut down on how many ridebacks they destroy.” Here he looks at her, she catches the look and goes red, but does not deny anything.

    “Will you be leaving?”

    “The compound that I’ll be teaching in is just outside of the city. I am getting military clearance to be there. I might bring along Haruki and Dota to help teach the mechanics portions.” Dota needed a job, anyway.

    “I suppose I won’t be seeing you much anymore then.” He glances at her and has to hold himself back. She seems so tragic. She has already lost so much, she seems almost resigned.

    “If you wanted, I could have you brought in to be an example to the new riders.” He tries to be casual. Her eyes are intent on his face. “You know they wanted to get you to work for them, but I could probably get you a pass to get on the base in return for doing some demonstrations every now and then. Once I get Fuego back up and running again.” She seems conflicted, and as much as he does not want her anywhere near the military, it is her choice to make and he wants to see her. He wants Haruki and Dota to see her too, obviously. “It would not be a job, just a favor to me every once in awhile. I’m sure Haruki and Dota will welcome any chance to see you.”

    “Would I be able to bring Shoko?” Rin asked. “I am sure Haruki will want to see her as well.” The shared a knowing look. Haruki had been increasingly less subtle in his pursuit of Shoko now that everything was over. She either remains oblivious or is very much aware. It is hard to tell. Tenshiro almost envies him. Almost. After all, he has not made much headway. Perhaps it is a bad idea to introduces Haruki to the military, then again it could be good for him, and for Shoko. Tamayo should be kept very far away. He gives her a week before she has found her way onto the base. Maybe less.

    “That probably won’t be a problem. The New GGP is desperate to get your help.” He probably should not have said that. She probably already knew. She nods and says nothing more. He sits back. They share the silence of the park. It’s nice. 

    “Why are the dreams always the same?” She asks finally, looking up at the sky. He waits, her questions are usually rhetorical. “Why do I see the same thing, every time? Why can I never change them?” This time the question actually seems to want an answer. There is a lot he could say about guilt or grief or impotence.

    “You see it because it is the truth. You have never been one to turn away from the truth. Perhaps your mind does not want you to start.” Real helpful, he thinks, slightly disgusted at himself.

    “Perhaps you are right.” He snaps his head around to look at her. “I tried to avoid the truth once, saying that I did not need Fuego and that I could give her up. I lied. To myself and Tamayo. She knew, I think, but I was so determined to move beyond what I saw as a crutch, I forgot the joy, I forgot everything it gave me. In a big way it gave me Suzuri. It took her away too. I think I have forgotten to take the good with the bad. Suzuri would not want me to give up because of the pain, ballet is full of pain and she loved that. No, Suzuri would want me to give myself a chance for joy, or love.” She kept her eyes firmly fixed on the sky, despite the lack of stars. She pulled his coat tighter around her, knuckles white on the edge.

    He does not know how to respond, so he says nothing. Neither does she. Still, they both end up migrating closer together without much thought until there is a seam between them running from shoulder to ankle. 

    When they can see pink lighting the horizon to the east, Rin eases herself off of the cold stone and offers him a hand which he accepts, pulling himself up. He offers her a ride home and she accepts, getting on his rideback behind him, still wearing his coat. She gives it back to him when he sees her to her door. He resists the urge to tell her to keep it. Resists telling her that he likes it when she wears it, makes him feel like she is protected, even if only from the cold.

    He says nothing. She would not appreciate it.

    He puts his coat back on, grateful for the extra warmth, and gets back on his rideback as he watches her shut herself back in her apartment. He drives off, back to his own home to get ready for the day. Tenshiro knows there will be many more nights like this one. He tries not to be happy about it. Sometimes, though, sometimes those nights feel like dreaming.


End file.
